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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. l

0. .H. LATHAM.

DISH HOLDER.

No. 878,692. Patented Feb. 28, 1888.

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SHERWOOD & co,

OF SAME PLACE.

DISH-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,692, dated February 28, 1888.

Application filed December 10, 1886. Serial No. 221,177. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, Ovens H. LATHAM, a citizen of the United States, residingin Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dish-Holders,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to dish holders for holding dishes and plates to warm the same and to allow them to drain after washing; and it consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an oblique view of my improved dish-holder; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same opened for use, the dotted parts of circles indicating plates or dishes placed in said holder; Fig. 3, an end elevation ofsaid holder folded; Fig. 4, a central section of one of the feet or bases on the line 00 00 in Fig. 5; Fig. 5, a side view of one of the feet; Fig. 6, a section of one of the leaves of the holder through the sheet-metal tubes which unite the parallel wires or bars of a leaf, said bars being an elevation; Figs. 7 and 8, enlarged isometric views of a part of either one of the leaves of the dish-holder near the lower edge of such leaf, the tube in Fig. 7 being completely closed over the bent lower ends of the bars, but in Fig. 8 the tube being closed only for a part of its length, the strip or unclosed portion of the tube being at the right of said figure and allowing the. bent lower ends of the bars nearest the right of the figure to be seen.

The leaves A A of the folding dish-holder herein described are alike, each consisting, substantially, of a wire grating or frame of parallel wires, a, each of which wires is bent near each end on the same side of the wire at a at right angles, as shown in Fig. 6, the bent ends of said wires being held in line with each other by sheet-metal tubes a" a, or pieces of sheet metal, preferably sheet-tin or tin-plate, extending from end to end of each leaf at the top and bottom of the same, and wrapped around the bent ends a of said wires or, so as to bring the edges of each piece a a into contact with the wires a and with each other between said wires, the bent ends of said wires being turned in one direction on one side of the middle of the leaf and in the opposite direction on the other side thereof, as shown in Fig. 6. The leaves A A,whcther constructed as above described or in any other manner, as by 1ooping the ends of the parallel wires around other parallel wires running at right angles to the spacing-wire a, are then separately tinned by immersion in a bath of melted tin or other metal or alloy, which gives them a bright appearance and solders the wires and joints together, in the usual manner. If the leaves A A were pivoted directly to each other-that is, if the inner or lower ends of the wires a were looped about a common wire which formed a part of each leaf and pivoted them together-4t would be necessary to bend the spacing-wires a of at least one of the leaves around this common wire after tinning such leaf or leaves, and the wires so bent would thereby be marred and the tinning would be removed therefrom by the bending.

It is evident that if both leaves were pivoted together and then tinned both would thereby be soldered to the pivot-wire and the leaves could not be folded and unfolded thereafter. To avoid these difiiculties I pivot the leaves, not to each other, but to one or more bases or feet, B B, each base or foot being formed in two parts, b b, as shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the lower part, b, of which supports the leaves, and the upper part, b, of which is a clamp to hold the leaves in place on said lower part, said parts I) b being held together by a bolt, 0, which passes vertically down through them and is surrounded by a nut, 0, below them.

Instead of the bolt 0 and nut O, a rivet or a screw turning in a threaded hole in the lower part of the base may be used to bind the parts of the base together. The tubes a a at the inner or lower edges of the leaves A A, when the leaves are folded and unfolded, turn in holes b Z1, formed partly in the clamp b and partly in the lower part, b, of the bases or feet. Each clamp b is slotted at b b vertically from its outer ends through the holes 1) b each slot admitting one of the spacing-wires a and fitting the same, and thereby preventing any endwise movement of the leaves upon the feet, while allowing the leaves to be turned up into position shown in Fig. 3, or to be unfolded for use, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The spacing-wires a, which are in. the slots 0 ii, are

provided with outward projections a, (made by looping the wire on itself, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3,) which, by striking the tops of the feet, limit the spread of the leaves, the tops of the feet being preferably slightly hollowed at U as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to receive said projections. The lower part of each base is provided with short longitudinal ribs b b, or projections on its upper surface, which ribs enter the slots 1) b between the holes b b and the ends of the clamp b, and preventsaid clamp and the lower part of the base from turning on each other.

I claim as my invention- 1. A dishholder consisting of two independent leaves provided with spaces to receive the edges of dishes, said leaves being separately pivoted to feet common to said leaves, said leaves being adapted to be folded together when not in use, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with suitable feet, of two leaves independently pivoted thereto, each of said leaves consisting of parallel wires bent near their ends at about right angles and arranged in the same plane, the bent portions of said wires measuring the interval between the middle parts of said wires, and strips of sheet metal bent over the bent ends of said wires, and having their edges brought into contact with each other between said wires, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination oftwo leaves, each consisting of parallel bars or wires arranged at intervals and connected at their ends, and feet, each formed in two parts, the lower of which parts supports said leaves, and the upper of which parts forms a clamp and is adapted to be secured to said lower part, said feet being adapted to embrace the connecting parts of said leaves between the upper and lower parts of said feet, as and for the purpose specified.

CYRUS H. LATHAM.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, OLIVE H. FRENCH. 

